GayGamer.net

PlayNerd Centerfold Hardware in the Dresser Drawer Edition

2011-04-08T16:55:12Z

Fabulously fierce. This sounds fitting for a woman who writes for more crazy popular venues than there are days in a work week. Ladies, gentlemen, and fabulous swirls in between, meet Leigh Alexander: video game journalist extraordinaire.

I'm gushing because she writes about so many facets of the gaming industry. To name a few: she's editor at large at the art and business of video games epicenter Gamasutra, she talks about socio-cutural gaming issues in a monthly Kotaku column, she exercises her imagination in gaming and beyond at Thought Catalog, she's recently taken on the games section of NYLON Guys, and she rampantly refines her repertoire on her own blog Sexy Videogameland.

For those feats alone we should applaud her. But like her journalistic career, she is relentlessly daring and bold in being our first female PlayNerd spread. She understands our comedic, yet insightful intent and is willing to come to bat just like the rest of the PlayNerds. Her photos may have even one-up'ed our previous half-naked hero, Rob.

]]> Whether or not gamers agree with Leigh, her meticulously crafted, thoughtful pieces never fail to elicit hundreds of responses. Something readers can't debate are the testaments to her love for gaming, woven throughout her writing. And of course, no package is complete without the look to go with the talent. Leigh's definitely got the look. She has a knack for making the joystick-wielding gamers and journalists swoon.

GayGamer's Drand had such a fantastic shoot with Leigh that by the end, I think you'll be wanting to lay on the rooftops and hang out gaming with this fabulously fierce femme fatale, as well.

What about your job excites you?

Lots of things, but what I love most is the opportunity to speak directly to the people who create in the medium of games. It's so exciting and it feels like such a privilege to get to pick their brains and then translate that to others -- my work is to talk to some of my heroes!

What game(s) have gotten you the most worked up?

The Metal Gear Solid series just makes me swoon. That's probably at the top of my list. Especially the third one -- Snake takes so much pain, and you have to be the one to like, splint his bones and stuff. SIGH!

What gaming characters do you think are hot?

Big Boss, Albert Wesker, Vincent Valentine, Tseng, Vergil, Billy Coen, Shinjiro Aragaki, Alucard, Tifa, Edea, Sylvia Christel, Naomi Hunter, Bayonetta.

What are some of the wildest PR/press events you've attended?

Ooh. No comment ;)

Facial hair has become more mainstream and sexy these days. What other attributes would you like to see get attention in games? How else can we objectify men in games?

Wife beaters. More wife beaters. Long, lean torsos. Tattoos. Also, they need to be less superhero and more tortured. They should brood delicately. And they should probably break laws and crack heads regularly but for their own PRIVATE, MORAL REASONS. And throaty, quiet voice acting. Eee!

What dirty secrets have you been told by people in the gaming industry?

Oh lord! No one would trust me if I weren't a vault, and then I couldn't get any work done. Knowing everyone's dirty secrets is part of what makes it fun, even if I can't tell anyone.

How would your personal ad read for who you are and what you are/were looking for?

Oh, geez. Umm... sassy, opinionated nerd seeks well-animated, sulky antihero? Must be able to return from own death for multiple sequels?

What do you think the relation is between Kama Sutra and Gamasutra?

Well, my boss named the site specifically so that people will give me weird looks and ask me to repeat myself every time I say for whom I work. But I'll tell ya -- me and my crew can write news for hours.

How sexy is "videogameland"?

Banned in Australia and Germany.

What games/hardware do you play in the bedroom?

Lately the 3DS comes to bed with me every night. I keep a PSP in my dresser drawer just in case I'm in the mood for some variety.

What are some advantageous situations that exist for woman in video games? Disadvantageous?

Well, lots of the most vocal and passionate game fans are boys who like girls. I'm not naive enough to think that my gender doesn't play a role in why people discover me or my work, although I think (I hope?) there are a lot of people who are simply curious about a female perspective and not following some biological urge! And, y'know, maybe a few people who don't care and just like what I write.

The disadvantage, of course, is that I wonder about that. And there's also a lot of sexism in the industry, even if it took me a long time to accept it -- I wanted to just keep my chin up and pretend it doesn't happen as if simply being myself were enough to make it go away. But when someone calls you a dumb slut because you speak your mind or when you get creepy sexual invitations in your mailbox on the regular -- or worse, when you're at a professional event and someone who is meant to be another professional makes some kind of sloppy overture at you because there are few other single women in the room -- it's hard to really disassociate that.

In order to be successful online, one really has to put oneself out there. Yet standing out in your field or drawing more attention for your gender is definitely a double-edged sword. For every person who takes the initiative to approach me, speak to me at an event or discover my work online because they're curious about me as a woman, there's three people going "she's only successful because she's a woman."

To them, I say, "if that's true, it should be easy for you to do better than I, right?"

Ultimately, what's the worst is that I don't like the idea of being a "woman in games." I'm a person in games, and while I can't have any other perspective than a woman's, I dislike getting pigeonholed as "the female perspective writer". I write about all kinds of things, y'know?

What's the one thing I should have asked that would have been fitting for this interview?

Whether I want a drink before you take these photos, and the answer would have been "absolutely."

PlayNerd Centerfold: Grabbing Lazy 8 Developer By The Cogs

2011-02-26T17:56:00Z

Lazy 8 Studios' steam-punk designed, tile sliding, 3D puzzle game Cogs was an Indie Games Challenge Grand Prize Winner in the Professional Category, netting our PlayNerd $100,000, in addition to awards for Art Direction and Gameplay. Almost every major digital distributor wanted a piece of Cogs: it's available for Steam, Direct2Drive, and GamersGate. Cogs has seen a lot of action across many platforms, as well: PC, iPhone, iPad and netbook.

Lazy 8 recently announced Cogs's spread of world domination includes Mac, Linux, and Android ports. What all this equates to is an extremely successful game. Developers don't spend their resources porting over something that hasn't proven itself. Behind every successful game is an extremely talented developer.

In the following interview, Lazy 8's Rob Jagnow proves to be anything but a cog in the machine, as he shares intimate details about himself with a creative flare that clearly explains Cogs's success. Oh, and his Ph.D. at MIT probably doesn't hurt, either.

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What was your initial reaction to being accepted as a PlayNerd Centerfold model?

Finally, there's someone out there who appreciates me for my body. I'm sick of everyone just being like, "Oh, you're so smart." Come on! It's not like I'm just some brain in a jar. I have a body, too.

What about your job excites you?

I make stuff! Maybe that sounds a little simplistic, but that's really exciting to me. I love the technical aspects of software development, but to really feel fulfilled, I need to be able to espress myself creatively. For me, game development is the perfect blend of tech and creativity. It takes a long time to create a polished game like Cogs, but when you're done, you have something that allows others to step into a virtual world that is a piece of you.

What games have gotten you the most worked up?

I really respect a game that can get you emotionally invested in the fate of the character within a few minutes, or even a few seconds. I think there are very few games that do this well. I really admire Daniel Benmergui for his ability to do that with his low-fi games like Today I Die or I Wish I Were the Moon.

What's the secret behind your presentable package?

I have a private coach. That's not exactly true... I have a dog. She's a beautiful white husky that my boyfriend and I rescued a couple years ago and she demands that she gets a jog or long hike at least 6 days a week. Add in 90 minutes at the gym 3 or 4 times a week, a high-protein diet that minimizes saturated fats and high-fructose corn syrup, and that's my health plan in a nutshell.

Do you have any toys you enjoy(ed) playing with?

Like most of the nerd crowd, most of my "toys" are played with through a computer screen. Back in the real world, when I'm not in front of my computer, I'm playing with dog toys. Well... it's not really me playing with the dog toys... my dog is playing with the dog toy while I'm on the other end of it. She doesn't fetch, so there's a lot of tug-of-war in this household.

Add one to the Kama Sutra book: If sex were done Cogs-style, how would it happen?

I'm sure there's steampunk fan-fiction. It would probably go something like this:

Kensington ran his hands along the polished brass. It felt cold now, but he was confident that when he fired up his new machine and steam filled its veins, it would reach a warm 98.6 degrees. He thought about that word -- machine.This isn't a machine. In many ways, he felt that the steel and brass work of art that stood before him was more human than him. It was designed to his own specifications and built with his own hands. Every surface was buffed smooth until it reflected his handsome face and black hair.

Quick & Dirty Q&A:

Do you have a filthy mouth when you play?

Not very often. But when I'm playing a FPS, I move my whole body side to side. I'm sure it's hilarious to watch.

How do you hold your joystick?

What is this, 1982? I feel like joysticks are a relic of the old arcade. I push buttons.

What's the biggest joystick you've played with?

I'm sure that would be back in the old arcade days.There's just something exhilarating about playing with a joystick in public.

What's the biggest group you've played in?

I'm a gaming monogamist. Maybe I'm just old-school, but I don't do much network play. If I'm playing multiplayer, chances are it's with my boyfriend.

What's the longest time you've played alone nonstop? together?

My partner isn't much of a gamer, so I end up doing a lot of gaming alone. He's playing through Final Fantasy XIII right now. It's packed with cut scenes, so sometimes I'll just watch. Is that wrong?

[Thanks to Rob from Lazy 8 Studios for participating. Grab a free demo of Cogsand try it for yourself. Rob assures us no NES controllers were harmed during his photo shoot. For those counting, that's TWO controllers which wound up in our PlayNerds' collective mouths without any solicitation.]

Pretty In Pink: PlayNerd Centerfold Swimsuit Edition

2011-02-20T06:05:38Z

Andy Schatz is the founder of Pocketwatch Games, which has released two video games about animals and the enivornment: Wildlife Tycoon Games and Venture Arctic. Andy has since made a game about a very different kind of environment, which earned him those two mounds he is palming so well in this photo. Specifically, the cooperative stealth game Monaco won Andy the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Excellence in Design awards for the 2010 Independent Games Festival.

Andy created a sexy trailer of Monaco, which readers can see along with the kinky interview after the break.

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What was your initial reaction to being accepted as a PlayNerd Centerfold model?

I laughed and called my wife. She asked me if there was anything that we needed to talk about.

What game(s) have gotten you the most worked up?

I've been playing Neptune's Pride lately. It's like a real-time multiplayer Alpha Centauri, except it's super slow. It takes hours or even days for your ships to travel between stars, which means the game puts a huge emphasis on diplomacy and backstabbing. I've been waking up in the middle of the night lately, sweating, feeling like someone probably launched a probe at me in the middle of the night. I'm not joking. I also dreamed the other night that my ally backstabbed me, I ended up sending him a missive calling him space-scum.

What's the wildest reaction you've had playing a video game? working on something?

The game B.U.T.T.O.N. was released on XBLIG recently (also a finalist in this year's IGF). It's a blast to play with friends, even better to play with significant others. It quite often involves cheating, wrestling, physical danger, and eventually make-up sex. It's also a charming little game that's amazing for parties. I'll leave the "wildest reaction" to your imagination, it's probably more fun that way anyways. :D

Nerd, geek, fanboy, otaku. What name do you prefer and why?

Whatever. I call myself a nerd and a geek all the time. I generally hate fanboys, but that's because I'm a spock-like geek and I believe that fanboyism is irrational. You should see pictures of me from fifth grade, though. Big glasses, braces, tucked in shirt. I was a NERD. Then I started swimming and lifeguarding and I ended up growing out of the nerd skin. I was still a total dork, though. I won the California State Science Fair back in the day, and was obsessed with Ultimate Frisbee in college. Still am, in fact.

What gaming characters do you think are hot?

World of Warcraft night elves. I could stare at that booty for hours. I have, in fact.

What's the secret behind your presentable package?

Hahaha. I'm 32 and married, so it's becoming less presentable by the year. I'm like Brad Pitt. I can still pull it together with a crash diet and a lot of effort, but it won't be long before I start getting cast as the old and wise cop rather than the young and eager one.

Do you have any toys you enjoyed playing with?

I loved Robostrux and Muscle Men when I was a kid. I also painted D&D figures back when they were still made from lead.

Andy is the 13 year-old in the red shorts; he was quite the tween!

Add one to the Kama Sutra book: If sex were done Monaco-style, how would it happen?

Top-down, in the dark, and with four players on a couch, obviously. Everyone would be trying to get the job done as quickly as possible, but something would inevitably go wrong, and a huge mess would be made.

[Andy, thanks for the photos and thank your wife for letting us share you. I loved Muscle Men when I was a kid and still do. Nice to know we have something else in common! By the way, is that a Pocketwatch you have there or are you just happy to have been interviewed by me? Gaymers, if you like what you've seen, follow Andy's company for the latest in Monaco updates.]

PlayNerd Drops His Drawers And Returns To The Wild

2011-02-09T19:00:37Z

Anthony Carboni is the host of crazy popular webshow Bytejacker, which reviews games for all download services (Xbox Marketplace, WiiWare, Playstation Network, PC, and iDevices). He has lent his writing talent and vocal personality to Secret Base's new browser-based zombie survival arcade game, Bitejacker. He'll also be hosting the 2011 Independent Games Festival Awards Ceremony during GDC. Riding on the high of his show, new fame, and new game, Anthony agreed to a PlayNerd photo shoot if he could live out a furry fantasy. Little did he know that Gaygamer could turn his dream, and thousands of Bytejacker and furry fans' dreams, into reality.

]]> What was your initial reaction to being accepted as a PlayNerd Centerfold model?

The first thing I did was call my mother, both because I like to share every triumph in my life with her and because it's hilarious to keep her guessing about my sexual orientation.

After the adrenaline high wore off, I immediately called my dance instructor, my clowning/pantomime coach, and a local zookeeper to help me really understand the essence and movement of a cheetah. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it.

How long have you had a furry inclination?

I'm calling 'leading the witness' on this one... But, like, forever.

Unfortunately, Cheetah-Anthony didn't disclose any other oral fixations.

What about your job excites you?

I LOVE hearing from people that I introduced them to a new favorite game, a new developer, or the indie scene in general. I also love the (all-too-rare) opportunities to talk to developers about what they do. Indie developers are a really a very special kind of person who excel in everything. It's probably the most complicated and multidisciplinary art form I've run across, and it takes a singularly driven person to do it.

I've yet to meet a boring game developer.

What games have gotten you the most worked up?

In terms of anger, we actually did an episode about the top 10 games to ever frustrate the hell out of me.

Emotionally, I'd say NiGHTS and Klonoa got me pretty choked up. I've never had sexy feelings for a game, but I get pretty close when I play Galaga or Tempest.

What's the secret behind your presentable package?

First of all, thank you for noticing. Package grooming and presentation is a very important part of my daily ritual. I'd say moisturize, hydrate, and only use women's ankle-high running socks to stuff your briefs.

What happens when cheetahs drink caffeine?

No human eye is fast enough to see it, not even David Attenborough's.

Speaking of caffeine and presentable packages...

What gaming characters do you think are hot?

Dana Plato in Night Trap. (Miss you, boo). Espio the Chameleon has an accent and soulful eyes. More like Knuckles Cha-HOT-ix, AM I RIGHT?

Add one to the Kama Sutra book: If sex were done Bitejacker-style, how would it happen?

Well, first, there would be a login required to even request sex. Then maybe an additional micro-payment. Thirty seconds of pre-roll later, you'd be getting it on for a solid 2.5 minutes until the next commercial break.

How do you hold your joystick?

Gingerly, as I have minor carpal tunnel syndrome.

What's the biggest joystick you've played with?

I don't know about biggest, but thanks to Virtual On, I am particularly good at handling two at once. That is most likely the first double-entendre I've ever made where adding "...ladies" to the end doesn't work.

What's the longest time you've played alone nonstop? With someone else?

The one and only MMO I ever got hooked on, EVER, was Phantasy Star Online. I would play for 16 hours straight. It's probably the most pathetic MMO to be hooked on. It was completely remedial - like one step BELOW Maple Story. I would play until the American servers cleared out at night, then move to Japanese ones, then to European ones. It was ridiculous.

With a group, the longest was about a day. The first kid who got a Super Nintendo in my neighborhood had a sleepover and we stayed up and played through Super Mario World in its entirety.

What's the biggest group you've played in?

Saturn Bomberman. 8 players in one room. Things got sexy. Sorry, I meant "things got competitive." Why don't things ever get sexy?

[Play Bitejacker for free here. For those who want to see this PlayNerd without the paint, Anthony also has mostly wholesome photos to which even his mother couldn't object.]

PlayNerd Centerfold: Dejobaan Games, Spread Wide Open

2011-02-02T20:29:00Z

Welcome to GayGamer's very first PlayNerd Centerfold!

We felt that "game developer superstud" was an underrepresented subsection of the population, and so we decided to host a series of developer interviews to justify smearing adorable ubernerds with body paint. So we made that happen, because that is apparently a thing that we can do. Please enjoy!

In our first PlayNerd Centerfold feature, GayGamer hopes to expose gaming professionals the right way with a long, hard look at indie sin-sation Dejobaan Games president, Ichiro Lambe. His hands have crafted some head-turning titles including an Independent Games Festival finalist called Aaaaa!!! -- A Reckless Disregard For Gravity that really makes gamers scream when they play it. He also crafted the first ever "Who Is An Indie Gamer" pole... er, poll last year.

The PlayNerd Doctor is in; enjoy our extremely thorough first examination below!

Ichiro, your peers told us you were smart AND sexy; we're glad we listened...

]]> What's the wildest reaction you've had playing a video game?

Floyd from Planetfall made me cry in the early '80s. On the other end, I've felt significant rage at being trounced at Soul Caliber. Effing Maxi.

What was your initial reaction to being accepted as a PlayNerd Centerfold model?

Awesomeness! Look, I spent much of my life being a small, sorta-scrawny half-asian kid. I never thought much of my looks or my dating prospects. I thought I might die a spinster-er. But, as some people find Jesus, I found salsa dancing, fitted clothing, and a modest amount of charm. Nowadays, I feel significantly more handsome. Something like being asked to smile for the camera for PlayNerd Centerfold? Come on -- that's the world saying, "people think you look nice, and it's because you worked for it." It's genuinely empowering and gratifying.

What about your job excites you?

#1: Game development is the fascinating, mind-blowing stuff I'd be doing even if it weren't my job. It's all about creating tiny universes for people to enjoy -- what's not to love? On Sunday evening, I'm chomping at the bit to get back to work.

#2: Leading a team head-first into a project. They follow, and you have to pretend you know what you're doing, making it up every step of the way. It's one of the most grueling yet exhilarating feelings. And if you don't screw up the first time, you build up enough trust with your team that you get to do it again. And again. And if you're picking the right projects, it's terrifying each and every time.

#3: It's the Golden Age of video games. The industry's still small enough such that individual developers can make an impact on how we make games for years and decades to come.

What games have gotten you the most worked up?

The last few games that have kept me up until 5am have been Minecraft and Farbs' Captain Successor. But some of my older favorites are Tribes (how many sessions lasted to 2am?), Deus Ex (I saved my brother Paul!), and Katamari Damacy. For Katamari's sense of unique character, simple-yet-compelling gameplay, and broad appeal, I think it's one of the world's most perfect games.

What a man! He's got something on his chin but doesn't seem to mind.

What's the wildest reaction you've had working on something?

Sometimes, at 3:06am, when everyone's asleep, and you're feeling loopy and are knee-deep in noodles of code, the world around you just goes quiet, and you hear a "click." Something beautiful and unexpected happens, be it a pile of math coming together, a simple mechanic that changes the entire game, or an idea so huge that you have to type it out as fast as you can just to keep your brain from spilling over. That "eureka!" moment is an instant that's... I dunno, call it "pure." It feels as though you've just opened your eyes, and you see a whole new world to explore. I live for these moments.

Nerd, geek, fanboy, otaku (etc.). What's your preferred pet name?

Geek! Does everyone pick "geek"? I bet everyone picks "geek." It's come to mean "Hey, now that we're in the 21st century, intelligent, technically-inclined people can be sociable and well-paid. We've been vindicated!"

What gaming characters do you think are hot?

Alyx Vance is half Asian (one of us!), so I think she's great. Hell, isn't Chell also supposed to be half Asian? And Jade from Beyond Good and Evil? (Alésia Glidewell and Shannyn Sossamon are both part Asian, anyway.) I like all of them -- it's nice to see multiracial people represented in video games.

How about Gordon Freeman? Who doesn't find competence and a beard sexy? When I was 13, I thought the Queen from Battle Chess was hot, though she was not actually hirsute. On the other hand, I do not think that Lara Croft is, because I feel she was engineered by committee.

What's the secret behind your presentable package?

"Show me a guy who is afraid to look bad, and I'll show you a guy you can beat every time," a quote from Lou Brock. I think it's worth trying crazy shit out, because sometimes you'll happen on something that's pretty sweet, like a zebra-print hoodie. It works! But you can only get there if you screw up every now and again. I was always afraid of people laughing at me. But now, you know, let 'em laugh. Other things I think every gent should have:

A good pair of shoes.

Fitted shirts.

An excellent blazer. Goes well with jeans.

A friend to say, "Hey, here's something you can try that's out of your comfort zone. Do it!"

Do you have any toys you enjoy playing with?

Do you mean sensual toys? Do people count? Toying with people's emotions? Making people feel as though you love them, then using the uneven power dynamic to get them to act against their morals as a means of attaining sexual gratification? No. That's actually pretty horrible, and I'm not sure why you would suggest such a thing. I consider myself to be a decent person -- for example, today, I felt that a friend might want more hot chocolate than he had. But if I'd asked him if he wanted some of mine, he'd have declined for feeling guilty about taking some of mine. How foolish! So instead, I asked him if he would have been happier if he'd gotten the larger size, and when he said, "You know, I actually would have," I shared half of mine. I didn't need 24 ounces of the stuff. So, we were both happy. Then, I kicked a waif in the ribcage, but that's okay, because they don't have feelings.

Add one to the Kama Sutra book: If sex were done Aaaa! or Kick It style, how would it happen?

I am hereby electing to pour my efforts into answering this very question. As it happens, we have a... guide... that we give to all incoming interns. Attached to this e-mail, I have attached a diagram from this (attached) from this guide. And here is the description, also from this guide: "CHAPTER XIV, ON FALLING, KICKING, AND SCREAMING"

WHEN love becomes intense, partnered screaming is undertaken, and it is done in the following ways: when falling from a tall building; when listening to Victoria Beckham within the earbuds; at the time when an angry lover is reconciled; and, lastly, whenever alcohol is involved.

But screaming, by itself, is not a sole method of deriving pleasure, but must be paired with biting or kicking. Flailing nudely in tandem, the lovers may produce the following patterns:

Resounding

Half Wheat

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! Face

The Dragon's Paw

Kicking it Old School

Jellyfish Jellyfish Lump Lump Lump

Sensual Dejobaan Pony

The Lotus

While we'd like photos to show off some of these positions, we have to keep the site somewhat tame. Thanks again to Dejobaan Games for being voluntarily objectified. Check back for more gaming professionals baring their brawns, brains, and sometimes their brawny brains! Remember, "Be objectified! Your games already are!"